


Bonding over Books

by Write_No_Evil



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin Eternal (Comics), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Batbonding, Batfamily Feels, Gen, Jason and Cassandra bonding, Jason is a bookworm, batfamily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-31 01:58:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6450985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Write_No_Evil/pseuds/Write_No_Evil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With no one having the to read with her, Cass is referred to Jason. At first, it seems he won't read with her, but after she tells him she's never read Pride and Prejudice, he lets her in. They bond over books, Jason going so far as to show her something he's never told anyone else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bonding over Books

Cassandra stood next to Dick, a book in her hands. She looked down it for a second then back up to Dick.

"Hey Cass," Dick spoke to her, eyes never leaving the screen in front of him. Cass pushed the book in her hands towards Dick. He finally turned to look at her, seeing the book.

"Ah, sorry Cass, I've got too many reports to write up for both Batman and my police boss." Dick felt bad at having to turn down Cass. Since being adopted by Bruce, she had spent a lot of time learning to read, write and speak, skills she hadn't been taught by her father. Normally it was either Alfred, Bruce or Steph who would help her read books but none of them were in, Steph at her college class, Bruce at a meeting and Alfred shopping. Cass looked down at the book sadly, turning to leave.

"Wait Cass," he called out, Cass turning back to loom at him, hope in her eyes. "I can't read to you-" her small smile fell. "-but I do know someone who can." Cass looked confused, there was no one else in the grounds other than her and Dick.

"What.. do you... mean?" She asked. Dick beckoned her over.

"I know you read the most with Alfred, but I know someone who can read even better than him, heck this guy could probably cook better than Alf," Dick paused for a second. "But don't Alfred I said that, he would stop giving me his cookies and the guy who's just as good as cooking as him definitely won't give me any," Cass titled her head as Dick began to ramble. "Whoops, sorry. Anyways, just go to Jason, he'll probably read to you."

"Where is he?" She asked, proud that she hadn't paused or stuttered once through her sentence. Dick beamed at her as well.

"In his fourteenth safehouse. The one near Robinson Park." Cassandra nodded and thanked him, turning once more to leave. She wasn't sure if Jason would read to her, he didn't like the family very much.

"Wait Cass, one more thing!" Dick yelled out at her. She spun to face him. He gestured for her to come back to the computer. When she was closer, he opened a drawer in the panel under the computer, something she never knew had been there and reached in. He pulled out a book and offered it to her. She took it, looking at him to make him explain.

"It's Jason's favourite book. If he says no, tell him you've never read it." Cass nodded, eyes still on the drawer she never had existed. Dick followed her line of sight to it and chuckled.

"Yeah, Jason put it in there. I don't think Bruce knows about it, Tim was the one to show it to me. Whenever Jay wasn't on a field mission either because he got benched or because the risks were too much, he'd help Bruce patrol with the computer. He put the drawer here to keep his favourite books in so he could read then when things got slow and boring." Cass took the worn out looking Pride and Prejudice.

"It's his third favourite copy. His second is on his own bedside table and his favourite is the one on Alfred's bedside table. Alfred's one is the first copy he read and his second favourite was the one he had when he lived with Talia." Cass nodded and walked to her motorbike, lifting up the seat and placing the books in the hole. She waved Dick goodbye and hopped onto the bike, driving out of the cave.

* * *

Cass shut off the engine as she arrived at Jason's safehouse. Now she was faced with a dilemma. Should she scale the wall and enter through the window, or knock at the door? Creeping in meant that Jason wouldn't know she had entered until she revealed herself. That could lead to him trying to shoot her out of surprise. Of all the family, Jason was one of the last people you wanted to surprise, maybe even the last. Damian was strong, but he wasn't as strong as Jason and Jason's punches hurt more. Even though she was one of the best fighters of the Bats, maybe even the best, fighting Jason made her wary. He was very strong, perhaps stronger than Bruce. One lucky hit from him could take her down. If she knocked on the door, she wouldn't have that problem. Instead, he would have the ability to not let her in. Cass took the books out of the bike and headed towards the door, making her decision.

She knocked thrice on the door and waited patiently for Jason to open the door. She heard through the door someone walking towards her, muttering something in a different language. The footsteps paused in front of the door and Cass looked up at the camera discretely hidden in the right corner of the door frame, showing it was her. The person behind the door huffed and opened the door. Jason stood in front of her, glaring slightly. His left hand was on the doorknob, his right hidden. Cass suspected it was holding a gun behind the door, the barrel aimed at her.

"What do you want? Did Dick send you?" He asked through the small gap. The door chain stopped the door from opening all the way and Cass took it as a bad sign. Jason spoke before she could answer his question. "Tell him I'm not coming to the damned Manor."

"Dick sent me... but for ... another reason," Cass told him. Jason glared at her and moved to close the door. In desperation, Cass shoved a foot in the doorway, stopping the door from shutting. "I haven't read Pride and Pred-dew-dice!"

Jason stilled, looking at her. His eyes were slightly wide and his face was blank but she couldn't tell what he was thinking. He blinked a few times then kicked her foot out of the way and slammed the door shut in her face. Cass blinked and looked at the closed door. She visibly deflated and sighed. She knew it was a bad idea to go to Jason. She was about to turn around and walk away when her ears caught the sound of movement behind the door. There was rattling and then the door swung open completely. Jason jerked his head in the direction of his apartment, gruffly saying, "Get in here."

Cass did as he said, walking quickly into his safe house. She glanced around the room, her assassin training kicking in and making sure there was nothing that could harm her. Jason followed her into the living room muttering "Hasn't read it!" in a language she guessed was Spanish or Portuguese. She stopped in the middle of the room, not sure what to do next. Jason sat on the sofa and gestured for her to do the same. She glanced at the table in front of the sofa, covered in paper. Jason saw her looking at the laptop and promptly closed the lid, shoving all the paper to the side.

"Okay, first off, it's Pride and Pred-jew-dis," Jason told her. Cass repeated him several times, memorising it. Jason took the book from her, fingers running along the cover. "Two, you're not interrupting, I'm not busy doing anything important and three, you got this from the drawer on the computer." Cass nodded as Jason began to flip the book holding it on opposite corners.

"Richard gave it to.. me," she told him. Jason nodded and rolled his shoulders, sitting back. He then noticed the second book in her lap.

"You don't want to read Pride and Prejudice," he spoke. He looked sad, as if she had insulted him by not wanting to read the book. Cass immediately shook her head, rushing to convince him otherwise. Her hands shot out to comfort him, left hand on his right shoulder. She remembered just in time about his left lung, the one that had collapsed from Joker's torture, her right arm instead rising to reach his arm instead.

"Want to read Pride and... Pred-jew-dis too," she told him. Cass didn't want him to retreat like he often did with the rest of the family. Just getting him to let her in seemed like a big achievement. It looked like he was about to read to her as well and she didn't want to loose the chance. Jason looked at her suspiciously but opened the book with a flick of his wrist. He began to read, his body relaxing instantly.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Cass snuggled closer to Jason, reading the words over his shoulder as well. Jason moved it so she could read it better, not once complaining about her resting on him even though he seemed to hate being touched by most others.

* * *

"When breakfast was over they were joined by the sisters; and Elizabeth began to like them herself, when she saw how much affection and solicitude they showed for Jane-"

"What does... sol-ic-itude... mean?" Cass asked.

"A feeling of excessive concern," Jason told her, his eyes not leaving the page. "Anything else?" Cass shook her head and rested her head on his shoulder again. She nibbled at the cookie as Jason continued to read. Three hours in, Jason had stood up and got a plate of cookies, cake and two glasses of milk from the kitchen. Cass had steadily been devouring them. Dick had been right, Jason was both a good cook and a good reader. He read with enthusiasm, like it wasn't a chore. Unlike Alfred, he brought the characters to life, putting on different voices for each of them. Cass smiled as he continued reading, curling closer to him.

Another three hours and Jason was on the last chapter. His steady voice floated through the darkening room, the sun progressively lowering as he continued to read to her. A few times Cass stopped him, confused at the plot. Each time Jason would explain the plot to such an extent that Cass completely understood it. Eventually, Jason finished the book, closing it with a flourish. He turned to look at Cass.

"So, how was it?"

"Confusing," Cass said. "But good."

"It's been turned into several movies. We can watch them if you want. They sometimes stray from the book but they can be easier to understand than the book." Cass nodded and Jason turned on the TV. He quickly found a Pride and Prejudice and pressed play. As the credits were rolling, he got up and went to the kitchen, getting popcorn and other snacks for the movie. Once he settled down on the sofa, Cass moved back to laying half on top of him, her head resting on his chest and his arm curling around her back.

Half way into the movie, Cass fell asleep. Upon noticing her asleep, Jason paused the movie, so when she wanted to finish it later, she'd be where she had left. Jason shifted, intending to pick her up and put her in one of the spare rooms but the movement made Cass stir. Jason paused and waited for her to settle down. She curled in on herself to be nearer to Jason, bringing her knees closer to her body. The action caused her phone to peep out of her trouser pocket. Jason wouldn't have noticed it but at the same time, it lit up as it received a text. Jason slipped it out her pocket, intending to turn the brightness down so it wouldn't affect her slumber. As he did so, he noticed the notification bar was crowded. Tapping on the texts and missed calls he saw that pretty much everyone in the family had texted Cass about her absence. Dick was in the lead with 32, Steph was next with 29 and Barbara had contacted her 7 times. Tim too had asked about her whereabouts. Jason was surprised to see Damian had also texted here. _'Cain, father is wondering where you are. Reply to him.'_ Demanding, just like the brat. Bruce had texted her as well, the messages ranging from _'Tea is ready, come down'_ to _'Are you on patrol? If yes then go to Bradhen'_. Even Alfred had texted her _'Miss Cassandra, dinner is ready. Please come down.'_ Jason changed his hold on the phone and began to type out a message.

_'Hey Alf. Cass is here with me, she's sleeping on my shoulder right now. She came over and, you won't believe this, but she said she had NEVER READ PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!! Of course, I had to read it to her. It would be a betrayal to all book readers if I turned her away. I would be an abomination, nay worse, if I had let her walk away without knowing the wonder that is Pride and Prejudice. Anyways, don't worry, she's fine. Don't think either of us will be on patrol._

_Jason_

_P.S. I'll feed her breakfast tomorrow and she'll be back at the Manor by 10.'_

Jason's finger hovered over the send button. He tapped the message box and wrote another sentence, eyes looking at the other book Cass had brought.

 _'P.P.S. Maybe after 10, she brought another book. If I'm in a good mood, tomorrow I'll read it to her.'_ Jason sent the message.

 _'Afterwards I'll show her my bookcase. Don't worry, I'll read her Treasure Island.'_ He sent another message after the first one. He thought for second then typed out a third message to the man.

_'P.P.P.S. Go to bed old man. The others will be fine on patrol. You need your sleep; you'll get more wrinkles from staying up all night and worrying. Seriously, I don't know how you do it, you go to bed after us and wake up before us. In case no one's told you this, you're amazing Alf. But go to bed!'_

After he sent the final message to the butler, Jason then began to type out another message. _'This jason. cass is w/ me. don't worry is fine. not going on patrol'_ he purposefully made grammatical mistakes, a petty way of showing how much he didn't care about the others, hoping it would annoy them. He sent it to Dick, because he seemed the most worried, Steph as he thought she was best friends with Cass, Tim because he wanted to show Tim he didn't hate him -including him would be a good thing- and Barbara to make sure the message got to Bruce. Barbara replied to him quickly.

 _'What is she doing with you Jason? Is she hurt? Did you hurt her? Where are you? I'll send someone to pick her up.'_   Jason read it, knowing she would see it had been read but didn't reply to her. His security around his safe house was good enough that she wouldn't be able to trace him.

Once everyone had got a message, he changed the TV to a documentary, something quiet that wouldn't wake up Cass or make him laugh and disturb her rest. He watched it for a while, memorising some trivia. He loved to tell the rest of the Bats when they were on patrol, he lived to see Tim's 'What-The-Hell!?' face. After a while, Jason too fell asleep, resting his chin on Cass' head.

* * *

Jason startled awake, the sun streaming through the windows and car horns in the place of birds chirping. Jason felt something heavy on his right side and reflectively moved to push it off. When his fingers came into contact with something warm and soft, the complete opposite of a falling chunk of a roof, he finally had a good look at what as laying on him. Cass lifted her head up, quickly waking up and becoming alert like her father had taught her.

"Sorry for waking you up," Jason apologised, voice husky from sleep. Cass nodded, rolling her head to get the kinks of sleeping in that position out. Jason stood up, stretching and walked towards the kitchen. Cass followed him as he called to her over his shoulder. "What do you want for breakfast. I can make something that'll make Alfred proud or.." Cass tilted her head as he trailed off. He smirked at her. "We could have a breakfast that would give Alfie a heart attack." Cass grinned and nodded.

Jason walked over to the three fridges that stood side by side. He opened the first two, turned to Cass, and bowed down, exaggerating the sweeping motion of his right arm as he folded it over his chest.

"Mi'Lady," Cass smiled and walked closer to the fridges. The first one was filled with cookies, the second one filled with cake. She sneakily opened the third one, that one full of groceries and other necessities. Jason gave her a plate and she began to take the treats out and stack them on her plate. Jason followed her, taking two plates and filling them up as well. Once done, he walked towards the living room but didn't sit on the sofa. Cass, confused, kept walking behind him as he took her down a corridor. She tensed her body, getting ready to leap out of the way in case Jason did anything but he just led her to the end of the corridor. Once he was standing in front of the end, he turned to her. "Don't tell anyone about this." After the warning, he stepped on a small tile on the floor and the wall in front of him slid away, revealing a medium sized room with bookcases on all walls. Cass stepped in, eyes wide as she took in a number of books in the room. Jason laughed at her, walking to the table in the middle of the room and placing his plates on its wooden surface. He waited until she had finished marvelling at his collection.

"Which one do you want to read?" He asked, nodding to the books surrounding him. Cass looked surprised then turned to survey the books. She walked towards the closest bookcase and took a book out, turning it over to read the blurb. Nodding to herself she kept it and moved to the next book, taking it out and reading the blurb. She repeated this over and over again until she couldn't carry any more books. Jason chuckled at her and strode over, taking the books and her plate and setting them on the table. He turned and watched her go through more books, keeping most of them. When she couldn't carry anymore, she would set them on the table with the rest of the books and go off to get more. She finally stopped when there were more than thirty books in a pile on the table. Jason whistled at the sight of the pile.

"You sure are eager," he told her, knowing it was going to take a while to read through the amount of books she had brought to the table. Cass' eyes opened wide as she realised something, turning on her heel and running down the corridor to the living room. She fell to her knees in front of the sofa and scooped up the other book she had brought with her. She returned to Jason who had moved to sit on the rug in the middle, his two plates in front of him with Cassie's to his side and a circle of books around him. She hopped over the small fortress of books and sat next to Jason, a smile on her lips.

"Alright, which one do you want to read first?" Cass gave him the closest book, wiggling closer to him as he examined it.

"Good choice," he turned to her. "You don't tell anyone about this though, ya got it?" Cassie raised a finger to her lips, in a shushing gesture.

"It will be ... our little secret."


End file.
